More Secure Payments for Hoteliers

More Secure Payments for Hoteliers with New Merchant Link Integration

June 24, 2014, 02:00 PM

Infor is partnering with Merchant Link to give hoteliers more secure payment options and better protection of guest data from potential security threats and data breaches.

Merchant Link is a leader in providing security and support for payment acceptance in the hospitality industry.

A new integration of Infor Hospitality Management System (HMS) with Merchant Link adds security through tokenization and point-to-point encryption (P2PE) for credit card swipes on the Infor HMS mobile check-in application. Starting at the point of sale, the Merchant Link infrastructure was designed so that Infor HMS never sees or stores sensitive credit card information. Cardholder data is captured and replaced with tokens that safely live inside the Infor HMS system, CRM records, etc. In all subsequent communications, the credit card is referenced using the token. This helps ensure that the primary account number is never exposed in the system.

By removing cardholder data from the hotelier's system and storing it in a secure, hosted vault, the data is able to reside away from the business and from hackers. This should reduce the risk of a breach and directly address the third requirement in the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard: "Protect stored data."

"Almost every hotel relies on stored credit card information, and it's important to approach this process by layering encryption technology to protect cardholder information," said Laura Kirby-Meck, executive vice president, Sales and Marketing, Merchant Link. "We wanted to partner with Infor because one of their premier business objectives is to make the guest experience more satisfying for their customers, and adding a security component to their already successful property management system is key in removing the risk of potential stolen information."